Chewing gum is the most popular form of mouth freshener around that cuts across all the age brackets. It is quite acceptable for the youth, kids cannot get enough of it while grown ups of both sexes also use it should they doubt their breath.

We also have old men especially football managers, an exceptional example being Manchester United’s coach Sir Alex Ferguson who is famous for chewing gum in all games his team plays in.

In short, gum offers many a sense of oral confidence or sometimes chewing gum is a means of relieving stress as in the case for football managers. But like everything else it has its good side and bad side. The bad side comes in different aspects like destroying your teeth or even biting yourself.

However this is on a personal level. The adverse bad side of chewing gum that affects the society as a whole is the manner of the gum’s disposal. Many ill-mannered people leave the sticky and filthy lumps in the most awkward places. 

For some the best place to dump the chewed gum is under the table, and it does not matter whose.

For others there is no better place than under the armrest of chairs or even under church benches. There is nothing more disgusting than finding one’s finger touching one of these sticky lumps under a seat. One wonders about the mouth from whence came the gum.

Probably it was chewed alongside mairungi (khat) or tobacco for a long considerable time. While we are not against the practice of chewing gum, we do advocate for better disposal behaviour. Everyone has a right to chew gum, and munch it and swallow it if possible, but once one is done use tissue paper or walk to a bin and dispose of it in a civilised manner.

Leaving the sticky lumps under seats, tables and other places is to demonstrate one’s immaturity. Please, save others the agony of having to touch the sticky lump. 

dedantos2002@yahooo.com